Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1887-01-22
A MAN OF GREAT MUSCLE
STORIES OF A WEST VIRGINIA
MOUNTAIN SAMSON.
4 Man without Ribs-Whipping o
Bear With His Fists--A Remark.
aba

4 Man without Ribs-whipping ,
Bear With His Fists--A Remark
able Character.
A letter from Charleston, w. Va, t,
the Cincinnati Enquirer says: Abou
sixty years or more since there lived il
Nicholas County one of the stronges
men the country ever produced. DAME
Holiday was a man about forty years O.
age when first knew him in 1928. H,
was at that period one Of the most notice
hunters in the country; tall, about 81,
feet in his moccasins; weight about tive
hundred and sixty pounds, raw boned
and muscular--a perfect type of phys
ical manhood. One peculiar feature o
Holiday was the fact that the man hat
no ribs. Where his ribs ought to have
been there was but one solid bone. Hi
arms, chest and limbs were o mass o
muscle. have known Holiday to ii,
his right hand behind his back, anC
with the free arm to throw two of tn,
best athletes in the neighborhood. Hi
feats of strength were astonishing an6
of daily occurrence, but perhaps the ONT
which, from its oddity, attracted tn,
greatest attention, was his bare handed
tight " it'll bear.
Holiday had often laughingly said hi
believed he could whip bear with hi
bare hands in square pitched battle
One day, while hunting in the mountains
he shot at and wounded a large buck
which ran into the laurel brush. Holli
day saw that it was desperately wounded
and followed it by the drops ant
clots of blood on the leaves. HI
had forgotten to load his rifle, and wa
Walking along the mountain side trail
ing the buck, when he came to large
tree which had been uprooted by 1
storm, leaving large cavity under thu
overhanging roots. In this hollow
which was pretty well filled with leaves
large bear lay curled up asleep. TIT
footsteps of Holiday awoke his bear
ship, end he arose on his launches anC
grcwled When Holiday came in sigh
the bear arose and walked toward hin
growing. Just before he reached Holli
day he got up on his hind feet and came
at him, his little piggish eyes swapping
with mischief. Holiday threw his rifle
which was unloaded, to the ground, ant
prepared himself for fair, square fgh
with natures weapons. 1t must hav'
been an interesting sight to spectator
at safe distance-a man trying to whil
big bear with his bare hands. Thu
bear walked up within reaching dis
lance, when Holiday struck him on tn,
nose, knocking his head to one side anC
making him snort with rage. He followed
| =, bic I'D, and lon1aI oouaro1 tar
rible blows on the beasts sdes and
neck. THE bear, though, like all of hi
species, an adept at sparring, was no
quick enough to guard himself from the
blows of his human antagonist or to inflic
any injury with his terrible claws. II
about two or three minutes Holiday haC
struck and kicked the bear until he haG
knocked the breath out of him. And ht
seemed anxious to quit, when Holiday
landed terrible blow in his stomach
This mode of warfare disguised tn.
bear, and he drew off and lay down. By
this time Holiday thought it time tt
end the affair, and reached for his gun
Before he could load it the bear, wht
must have gotten his second wind, got
up and came at him again in deadly
earnest. This time the fight was worse
than before. The bear made several at
tempts to strike and claw Holiday, but
the latter was too quick for him and gave
him fearful blow on the ear, making
him whine. Holiday followed this w
by kicking him and banging him in the
nose and any where he could. The
blows on the nose seemed to have de-
cided effect, for it was not long before
the bear dropped on all fours and re-
treated to the hollow, where he laid
down, whining like whipped child.
Holiday then quickly loaded his gun
and shot him dead. The animal weighed
about four hundred pounds, and when
skinned the flesh showed dozen places
where Holidays huge fist had bruised
it. There can be no doubt that Holli-
day whipped the bear, as he described,
for he feared nothing living, and scorned
lie. His feats of strength and courage
we're marvellous, and would have filled q
volume had there been any one about
capable of describing them.
I have seen him, when was a young
man, at work carrying rails with which
to build fence on q mountain side.
Holiday would take eight or ten rails,
tie them together, and carry them up the
steep mountain side apparently as easily
as other men would carry n single rail,
and he would do it seemingly with little
Or no effort.
Another one of Holidays adventures
is worth telling. One day while hunt
ing Holiday found den of some ami
NAL in a cave in the mountain side.
With his usual courage and rashness he
determined to investigate 1t. He crawled,
or slipped through narrow passage for
about thirty or forty feet, when he came
to an opening. A cleft in the rocks
above lighted up the place, which was a
room about twenty feet square. In one
corner he found two panther cubs about
the size of half-grown kittens. Holiday
Immediately killed them by the butt of
his gun. He then started to so out,
knowing that the old panthers might re-
turn at any moment. Just as he got about
half way out OF the cave one of the old
panthers leaped into the entrance. Here
was fearful state of affairs but it did
not daunt Holiday. He Immediately
took aim as best he could and fired. The
bullet struck the panther, but did not
kill it. The brute sprang at Holiday
with a scream of rage and pain, and
landed just in front of him, either hav-
ing miscalculated the distance orhaving
been too badly wounded. The brute had
no sooner struck the ground when Hol-
liday struck it f IL between the eyes with
the end of his heavy gun, crushing its
skull. He then drew the body to the
mouth of the cave and threw Il down